Just because the maximum production will be potentially 750,000 barrels a day does not mean that production ever will be 750,000 a day. Domestic oil companies have no less of a profit motive than OPEC does. If increasing supply results in lower cost per barrel, they will simply reduce production accordingly. Moreover, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that only 2 billion barrels of oil are economically practical to recover from ANWR when oil prices are relatively low. With high oil prices, about 4.3 billion barrels are economically practical to recover. Just the same, if they allowed the oil companies in there today, it would still be 15 to 20 years before that oil started hitting the market. There is no doubt that this would be a financial windfall for domestic oil companies, but the numbers simply do not add up to this significantly reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The necessary infrastructure to bring that oil to market when you include the necessary permanent roads, air strips, port facilities, and other industrial facilities, would have total foot print of approximately 200,000 acres. Do to environmental oversight and regulation, oil extraction is certainly much cleaner than ever before, yet there are still no guarantees that there would not be a spill.
Now, this has to be weighed against the ethics for preservation of ANWR. The 1.5 million acre coastal plain that advocates for drilling are proposing that we open up represents the last 5% of the Alaskan North Slope not already opened to oil exploration. The coastal plain of the refuge is home to a wide variety of animals. The presence of caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, migratory birds, and many other species in a nearly undisturbed state has led some to call the area "America's Serengeti." The Refuge and two neighboring parks in Canada have been proposed for an international park, and several species found in the area (including polar bears, caribou, migratory birds, and whales) are protected by international treaties or agreements. The Arctic Refuge is the only conservation system unit that protects, in an undisturbed condition, a complete spectrum of the arctic ecosystems in North America. Moreover, the coastal plain is the most biologically productive part of the Arctic Refuge for wildlife and is the center of wildlife activity.
If the President and Congress were proposing an “Apollo” type program for energy independence with significant across the board increases in CAFÉ Standards, across the board mandates for increased energy efficiency for appliances and businesses, instead of multi billion dollar subsides to oil companies huge investments in alternative energy, investments in nuclear energy, and other smart growth – sustainable development initiatives, then as part of that overall package, I think that it would be reasonable to open up ANWR as part of that overall initiative. However that is not what is happening, since 1994, Republicans have allowed the oil and coal industry lobbyists to literally author any energy legislation. Until the Republicans recognize that conservation has to be the biggest part of any energy bill and Democrats recognize that no energy bill will be effective without nuclear energy being a part of it, then the line has to be drawn somewhere and ANWR is where we ought to draw it.
